


Tutoring Gone Right

by TheQueen



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Galaxy Garrison, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Major Character Injury, Oblivious Lance (Voltron), Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 03:18:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14662212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueen/pseuds/TheQueen
Summary: A year ago, Lance could safely say Keith Kogane was the worst person on the planet. That was a year ago.A Commission





	Tutoring Gone Right

The history of Lance and Keith’s Great Rivalry (capital G and capital R because Hunk swears he can hear the upper-casing everytime Lance says it) comes to a head one day after school on the bright green grass of the south quad with the backdrop of gray computer science and engineering buildings and half the student body milling around as their witnesses. As the harshest sun of the season beat down on their shoulders, Keith looks Lance straight eye, smiling, and says, “I’m sorry; who are you?”

Total defeat.

.

One year later, on a rainy tuesday afternoon, Lance is called into Professor Lee’s office to be delivered a death sentence.

“Tutoring?” Lance repeats, eyes focused on a dark brown stain on the otherwise pristine desk. “With Keith?”

Next to him Keith fidgets awkwardly, occasionally rubbing at his bruised knuckles.

“It would be equally beneficial,” Professor Lee promises. “You’re right on the cusp of testing up, Cadet. I would hate to see you lose this opportunity because you weren’t prepared enough. As for Cadet Kogane, he would benefit from spending time with others.” Professor Lee glances pointedly at Keith.

Lance glances over and tries not to stare too obviously at the bruise on Keith’s cheek. On one hand there was his pride still smarting from the utter obliviousness on Keith’s face the day Lance had the courage to confront Keith directly. On the other hand, Keith was good at what he did, even if he was a jackass. Lance had been dreaming of being a fighter pilot since he’d stepped foot into the Garrison. To let his pride get in the way of his dream….

“Okay,” Lance takes a deep breath and tries not to smirk when Keith shoots him a shocked look. “When do we start?”

.

Their first tutoring session, surprise surprise, is an utter disaster. Keith books the simulator for the afternoon the following week and shows up fifteen minutes late. Lance, who’d skipped out on lunch to make it on time, is understandably pissed.

And then they start. If it isn’t the stress of the simulation itself, it is Keith breathing heavy on his neck, humming and hawing every time Lance goes to take a turn or pull up short. At one point, Keith goes so far as the grab the controls from Lance’s hand and effortlessly turn them out of a narrow rock field like it’s easy as breathing. Like he’d been doing it from the day he was born and Lance was just an idiot who couldn’t get it.

But that had always been the difference between them hadn’t it: Keith, who excelled like he couldn’t be anything but perfect, vs.Lance, who struggled to get close. Lance, who spent nights and weekends in the library cramming just to touch an A.

(He still remembers the frustration that had spurred him to confront Keith on that hot horrible day. The disappointment when he’d worked and worked and worked just to get an 89 while Keith Kogane had sat top of their class with a 100 on the midterm, like Professor Lee’s course wasn’t the hardest class in the core curriculum.)

So it isn’t a surprise when Lance, frustrated and hungry as he’ll explain to Hunk later, crashed the plane at an all time low fifteen minute run.

“Jesus Christ!” Keith cries, pulling Lance out of the chair as the simulation shuts down around them, the timer going off in the background to remind Lance he’d been nowhere close to beating the sim within acceptable parameters. “Who let you fly?”

Lance thinks he’d been rather kind keeping his temper so far. So when he finally lets lose it is with a clear conscience, “Fuck you, Kogane! If you’re not going to take this seriously why the hell did you let Professor Lee call me in the first place?”

“Seriously?” Keith screams back. “I’m here trying to help your sorry ass, aren’t I?”

“Strolling in fifteen minutes late isn’t serious,” Lance screams back. “Acting all high and mighty isn’t serious. Sorry the rest of us peasants have to try, Kogane. You should be grateful I’m here keeping you from getting suspended. I could walk out of here and tell Professor Lee it isn’t working. See how you like being sent home!”

For one tense moment, Lance freezes wondering if Keith is going to punch him. Instead he snarls and stalks out of the room as Lance calls after him.

.

“I don’t know, man,” Hunk says later that day as Lance scribbles down another answer in his statics notebook. “I feel kind of bad for him.”

“Bad?” Lance snarls as he flips open his textbook. “Why in the world would you feel bad for that jerk?”

Hunk shrugs and calmly pulls the textbook out of Lance’s hand and flips to the right page. “I heard he and Shirogane used to be close, is all.”

“Oh…” Everyone knew what had happened to Shirogane. Last Lance had heard the guy was still in a coma after the car accident. His family was pushing for a lawsuit against the drunk driver to help cover the medical bills. Shirogane had been top of his class. His injury a tragedy. “I hadn’t know that.”

“I hear he’s been picking fights with anybody who has a bad word to say against Shirogane,” Hunk adds.

Lance frowns, thinking about the bruised knuckles that had started this whole charade. “Who’d have a bad word to say about Shirogane? Dude was the nicest guy on campus.”

“Probably jealousy,” Hunk turns back to his homework. “All I’m saying is maybe you should throw the guy a bone.”

Lance groans, turning back to his own work, already knowing his answer. “I’ll think about it,” he says just to be contrary, pulling at a loose thread on his sweater.

Hunk smiles and Lance rolls his eyes. “You think about it, Lance. You think about it.”

.

Now that he knows, it’s hard not to pity the guy. It becomes obvious. The dark circles under Keith’s eyes, the fidgeting and the fighting... Keith isn’t handling grief well.

So maybe Lance lays off. Maybe he bites his tongue no matter how often Keith snaps. Maybe he goes out of his way to listen more, to try just a little harder to make their sessions a little easier.  

Of course that doesn’t mean they don’t fight or that somehow Keith became a competent teacher. Lance tries but he’s not a saint. And yeah… maybe he doesn’t hold his tongue as well as he could. And maybe he might start a fight here and there. But overall, he figures he’s been trying more than not. It would be nice if Keith could make the effort.

(It’s not like Keith had their rivalry as an excuse to be an ass, which will always sting. Lance had spent a good year trying to outdo a guy who didn’t even know he existed).

And then on their sixth session, a miracle occurs. “Good… eh… Good job,” Keith stutters out, as Lance brings the ship in for a clean landing.

Lance freezes, nearly jerks it out of orientation from the surprise before catching himself. As the simulation comes to close, Lance looks over to see Keith isn’t even looking at him. “Did you just compliment me?”

Keith visibly bristles, shoulders tense and arms crossed over his chest defensively, and Lance sighs, mentally smacking himself in the face. “I mean… thanks.”

Keith nods. “Yeah, well… you’ve really improved and… I know I haven’t been…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lance cuts him off before he can think about it. “Um… I heard about, you know… And well…” He rambles, scrambling to back track because he and Keith are nowhere near close enough to be discussing feelings. “I know what it can be like losing someone close,” he finally spits out, unable to meet Keith’s eye. “My cousin was in an accident too... but that’s not important. Anyway… I mean… you know. I get it.” He takes a deep breath and fidgets with the fraying sleeves of his favorite hoodie. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Keith snorts, a bitter sound, but when Lance finally looks at him there is the smallest smile on his face. “Thanks, though. For getting it.”

“Yeah,” Lance nods jerkily before shooting up out of his chair. “Um well… I’m gonna get lunch because I haven’t eaten yet.” He leaves it hanging for a moment, unsure if he means it as an invite or not. When Keith doesn’t take it, he finishes, “I’ll see you Thursday.”

“See you next week,” Keith echoes as Lance leaves him in the control room.

.

So here they are. Nine weeks since Professor Lee had called Lance into her office and three weeks from finals and the exam that would decide Lance’s fate, and the surprising thing isn’t the progress Lance has made since Keith started tutoring him, but the fact that Lance could say, safely, that he and Keith were almost friends.

A year ago, Lance wouldn’t have had a problem telling anyone who listened how awful Keith Kogane truly was. But that was a year ago. The power of time, Lance supposes. Now… after being forced to interact twice a week for the last nine weeks, things had changed.

The first time Keith brings him a hot chocolate from Starbucks (no coffee because Lance has always hated coffee and he must have mentioned it once in passing and he’ll never get over the fact that Keith had actually listened!) during one of their Tuesday sessions, Lance almost cries in joy. He’d never found the time to eat before their sessions and could never risk being late in case Keith would leave.

“Don’t mention it,” Keith insists as Lance guzzles the drink down. “It isn’t a big deal.”

The next week when Lance brings a box of cookies as a thank you, he insist that Hunk had just made extra. The fact that he’d spent six hours last night baking a batch was for him to know and for Keith to never find out.  

And so it goes on, back and forth. A favor here. A gift there. When he complains to Hunk, Hunk laughs so hard he spills his chocolate milk. “You know what you are, Lance,” Hunk says as they mop up the spilled milk before it can drip onto the floor.

“A mess?” Lance jokes, tossing the wet napkin into the bin.

Hunk snorts, “Sure… let’s go with that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you hannaadi88 for your support! I hope you enjoy the story. I had a tough time writing this one for some reason but I'm really satisfied with the final product. Lance is just too oblivious but we love him anyway. :D 
> 
> Also wooo! This is my 100th fanfic on AO3. O.O 
> 
> Please let me know what you all think in the comments below!


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